What Are the Prerequisites to Be a Certified Scrum Master. Can a Fresher Become Scrum Certified?

17-Mar-2021

The Certified Scrum Master Certification is very well known in the project management world. It is the crest jewel among all project management certifications. Due to its high-quality many people have become interested in taking the certification and commonly ask the question - “What are the prerequisites to be a Certified Scrum Master. Can a fresher become Scrum certified?”

In this article, we will attempt to give a detailed answer to this question. We will divide our answers into several sections with subheadings and clear points so that the reader is able to navigate around the article with ease. We will also provide several pieces of relevant and pertinent information about the certified scrum master certification.

While this article is going to be a factual article it will not be completely devoid of opinions. The author of the article has some prior experience in the field of software development project management and will thus express some opinions from his point of view. We sincerely hope that the reader is not disturbed in any way by these opinions.

What Does a Certified Scrum Master Do?

The Scrum methodology is unquestionably the most popular methodology in the whole world for the application domain of project management. It has been widely adopted by most businesses and organizations that have even the slightest connection to technology and software development.

The reason for this is that the Scrum methodology brings with it a multitude of tools and techniques with the help of which team leaders and project managers can run their projects smoothly and manage all the tasks related to the projects effectively and without confusion or bewilderment.

The Scrum methodology prescribes that every software development project should have a Scrum team assigned to it. This Scrum team consists of several members with different roles and responsibilities. One of these team members is the certified scrum master. The certified scrum master is easily the most important and most valuable member of the scrum team.

It is his responsibility to lead and direct the Scrum team. He organizes all the different tasks of the individual team members and makes sure that everyone has a clear idea of what to work on at any given point in time. He even oversees the work of each and every team member and makes sure that they are moving forward according to the deadline of the project.

The certified scrum master has a very special role to play in the Scrum team. He acts as the servant leader of the Scrum team. This means that while he is the leader of the team he doesn’t try to take charge of the Scrum team directly. Instead, he attempts to show the team members how to act and how to behave by his personal example.

Another aspect of the certified scrum master’s duties is that he has to personally establish all the communication channels within the members of the Scrum team and even those leading from the Scrum team to the workforce of the organization which is not a part of the Scrum team.

In setting up these communication channels the certified scrum master makes sure to follow all the principles and guidelines of the Scrum methodology strictly. He also leads initiatives to educate the non-Scrum personnel working in the company about the protocols they should follow while communicating with the Scrum team.

How to Go About Becoming a Certified Scrum Master?

One has to start this process of becoming a certified scrum master by signing up for a Certified Scrum Master certification. This Certified Scrum Master certification is not a very lengthy or advanced certification, consisting of only 16 hours spread out over 2 days.

However, those 16 hours are absolutely jam-packed with information. So the candidate is advised to keep a notebook with him for the online workshop and take copious notes. One thing that the candidate must do before joining the Certified Scrum Master certification course is to check the credentials of the training institute very carefully.

The training institute must be a certified scrum trainer or a CST. They must be officially affiliated with the Scrum Alliance and must be authorized by them to offer the Certified Scrum Master certification course.

This system of authentication has been instituted because nowadays there are many unscrupulous elements in the educational course provider market who peddle low-quality courses and low-quality training which claims to be first-class but does not even cover the whole syllabus of the CSM certification exam or provide accurate and comprehensive course study materials.

What should be the mind while taking the workshop

The ideal candidate will attempt to bring to hand all the attention at his command during the Certified Scrum Master certification workshop. As we have mentioned before, the 2-day long workshop is jam-packed with useful and valuable information. It will be near to impossible to understand and retain all the information presented in the workshop by the instructor without paying close attention to each and every word.

The candidate should also have an attitude of respect towards the instructor. This is because an uninterrupted transmission of information between the teacher and the student can only take place if the student has a respectful attitude towards the teacher.

One should not approach the workshop with an air of finality as if they will not have any connection to the material taught in the workshop once it is over. The reality is that 2 days are not even nearly enough to learn and master all the core concepts and topics which are contained in the CSM certification exam.

One will have to spend several months after the workshop in unpacking all the information that they have received in the workshop. This is why the candidate is advised to take a notebook with him to the workshop and take copious notes. This will help them retain all the information more effectively and will also render it accessible for further study and revision at a later time.

Can one take the CSM certification exam without signing up for the training?

There is a very short and simple answer to this question and that is no, a candidate can not take the CSM certification exam without taking CSM Certification Training. He will simply not be allowed to appear for the exam without taking the training.

This is a very strict rule which has been set into place by the Scrum Alliance itself. It is compulsory to take CSM certification training before taking the CSM certification exam. The Scrum Alliance offers a very good reason for creating this rule.

The reason is that any aspiring certified scrum master needs a lot of experience in a monitored setting before he is ready to handle large software development projects in the real world. Otherwise, he will buckle under the pressure of collaborating in a fast-paced office environment and will not be able to manage the Scrum team he has been assigned to properly.

Such a poor and inept certified scrum master will give the Scrum Alliance a bad name and an ill-deserved reputation for producing unskilled and incompetent professionals. Thus the Scrum Alliance has made the CSM certification training mandatory for all aspiring certified scrum masters.

In the CSM certification training, the learners will be given information and knowledge from real-world scenarios, real-world examples, real-world projects, and real-world case studies. This will make them adequately skilled and competent before starting their careers as certified scrum masters in the real world.

How much time does it take to become a Certified Scrum Master?

This is a question that appears simple on the surface but is deceptively complex. One could say that the Certified Scrum Master Certification is only 2 days long so it only takes 2 days to become a Certified Scrum Master.

But there are other things to consider as well. One doesn’t become a certified scrum master simply by taking CSM certification training. One also has to pass the CSM certification exam. This exam is incredibly difficult and has a vast syllabus that is only taught in summary in the 2-day long workshop.

In order to clear the CSM certification exam successfully one must create a very detailed and well-laid out preparation strategy. They should carefully allot an adequate amount of time for studying each core concept and topic in the course thoroughly.

Covering the entire syllabus of the CSM certification exam can take a very long time. Exactly how long it takes depends on the prior experience of the candidate in the software development project management field.

But for a completely new and unprepared candidate, it can take up to 6 months to cover the syllabus of the CSM certification exam.

Are There Any Prerequisites for Becoming a Certified Scrum Master?

There are no prerequisites or eligibility requirements such as very high education or experience requirements that some other project management certifications have. The only two requirements are that one must take CSM certification training and that one must clear the CSM certification exam successfully.

Which jobs will become available after getting the certification?

• Entry-level Scrum Master

• Scrum Master

• Senior Scrum Master

• Coach scrum master

• Product manager

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